SALT LAKE CITY – Actor Emile Hirsch was charged Thursday with assault after police said he put a studio employee in a chokehold and dragged her across a nightclub table while he was in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival.

Hirsch was charged with aggravated assault, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He was also charged with intoxication, a misdemeanor.

Summit County prosecutor Ryan Stack confirmed that the victim, Daniele Bernfeld, works for Paramount Pictures.

Hirsch, of Encino, California, told police he didn't know Bernfeld but was having an argument with her.

He said he had three to four drinks. An officer reported to prosecutors that the actor's balance was off, he was slurring his words and smelled of alcohol.

Hirsch, 29, is best known for his starring role in "Into the Wild." He also appeared in Universal's Navy SEAL drama "Lone Survivor," Peter Berg's account of a disastrous 2005 military operation in Afghanistan.